This invention relates to safety devices for children. More particularly, it relates to child safety restraining devices for use where a child is seated, for example, a shopping cart, high-chair, stroller, infant seat, or similar apparatuses.
Shopping carts were introduced in the 1930's and in the following decades they were fitted with child seats, allowing child-caretakers more freedom to move about while placing the child in what was believed to be a relatively safe and immobile position. While it took a long time for adults to develop shopping carts, the period was brief before children figured out how to escape from child seats, and unknowingly place themselves in danger of falling or other bodily peril. Most shopping carts are presently equipped with a child carrier, either integral or retro-fitted, designed such that children are in a seated position, facing the driver of the cart, straddling a divider between the child's legs. This is also how many high-chairs, strollers, infant seats and other items in which children are seated, are designed, and thus the difficulties associated with restraining children in them are similar to those encountered with shopping carts.
Children often wiggle around in these seats and may reposition their legs so that both extend through the same side of the divider. This may allow the child to slip through and fall or slip through only partially and become stuck therein, thus either dangling or causing the entire cart or chair to fall over. Some shopping carts or like apparatuses are fitted with safety belts to restrain a child's movements. U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,046 (Gordy, et al.) describes a waist belt restraint. U.S. Pat. No. 5,263,726 (Wood) describes a safety belt that extends around the waist and also between the legs of a child. U.S. Pat. No. 5,641,200 (Howell) describes a child restraint seat including shoulder straps and lap straps that are crossed around a child. U.S. Pat. No. 6,186,521 (Divoky, et al.) describes a child restraint system with a pair of shoulder straps and a crotch strap. For high-chairs, U.S. Pat. No. 6,247,750 (Tsai) describes a waist belt.
The safety systems provided in the art, however, suffer from various shortcomings. Some are too complex for many consumers who desire simpler systems to operate. Complex systems may encourage non-use altogether, or may result in partial or incorrect use, which may be more harmful to the child than if no safety device were employed. Safety systems that only provide waist restraint may be compromised by children who manage to wiggle out of the waist strap and then may risk getting their necks caught in the strap. Still other safety systems have fastening means that are within the grasp of the child and such means are liable to be unfastened by the child being restrained or accompanying children. Accordingly, there remains a need to provide a child safety restraining device that is not unduly complex to properly operate, is more resistant to being wiggled-free from, is not likely to cause further risk if it is compromised, and/or is less susceptible to being unfastened by the child it is intended to protect or by accompanying children.
It is desirable to have safety systems that may be either permanently attached or removably attached to the apparatus in which the child is seated. Removable ones may be susceptible to theft; however, they may be removed and cleaned. Permanent ones reduce the opportunity for theft and avoid the need for caretakers to carry the systems with them wherever they go. The skilled person will necessarily consider the circumstances around which the use of the device is contemplated to determine whether to employ removable or permanent systems.
The applicants have found, surprisingly, that many of the above mentioned difficulties may be remedied with a child safety restraining device that restrains a child's legs at or near the ankle, anchoring the leg to the apparatus in which the child is seated. Such child safety restraining devices comprise an ankle strap having ends that can be fastened to each other, an anchor strap that can be attached to the ankle strap at one end and can be anchored to the apparatus at another end.